Operations control of network services

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatuses, for real-time operation control, among other things. There may be adjustments to a first device in which a first network service operates. The adjustment to the device may include moving a second network service of the first device to a second device. The first network service and the second network service may be associated with virtual machines.

BACKGROUND

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking(SDN) offer the potential for unlimited flexibility: the ability toprovide any capability via a network to any device, anytime, anywhere,and in near-real time. Intelligent partitioning is critical tosupporting that flexibility while still insuring service levelrequirements are met in a cost efficient and risk adverse manner. Forexample, virtualization can be used to create separate failure zones. Inaddition, through the use of geo-location and affinity/anti-affinityrules one can not only recreate a three-plane virtual separation modelbut create entirely new partitions which can be designed to furtherenhance service reliability.

SUMMARY

NFV and SDN capabilities can be tuned to provide extensive flexibilityin design and implementation. Disclosed herein are methods, systems, andapparatuses, for real-time operation control, among other things.Operations may be controlled in a way to provide insights with regard tonetwork service operation as well as automatically adjust networkservices. For example, there may be adjustments to a first device inwhich a first network service operates. The adjustment to the device mayinclude moving a second network service of the first device to a seconddevice. The first network service and the second network service may beassociated with physical or virtual (logical) machines.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore,the claimed subject matter is not limited to limitations that solve anyor all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system that may support one or morenetwork services.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary information for expected performanceparameters that may be used in methods or systems disclosed herein.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary method for operations factory controlassociated with a particular type of service.

FIG. 3B illustrates another exemplary method associated with anoperations factory panel.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface.

FIG. 4B illustrates exemplary visualization information.

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary network device.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary communication system that provideswireless telecommunication services over wireless communicationnetworks.

FIG. 7A is a representation of an exemplary network.

FIG. 7B is a representation of an exemplary hardware platform for anetwork.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The methods and systems associated with the operation control panel isenvisioned of a new class of operations modeling tools that mayintegrate network operations costs, infrastructure costs, service leveltiers, or capacity forecasting and planning data. The disclosed systemmay help a service provider monitor and measure the effectiveness of aservice and an underlying network for the service.

Software defined networking (SDN) introduces the opportunity to enablecombinations of products and services potentially on any device,anytime, or anywhere. This same opportunity also introduces challengesin terms of managing these products and services efficiently,accurately, and reliably. In addition, the task of product designbecomes more complex given the potentially unlimited mix of operationscosts and levels of service. To that end methods for service providersshould effectively understand questions such as: What are the mostsensitive cost factors in an environment for service and how doeschanging them affect service levels; What are the optimal mix of humanresources and automation (or the like) needed to manage a changing mixof physical and logical resources? How does the service provider assesspotential products and pricing given unrestricted flexibility in termsof service level offerings and associated operational costs?

The subject matter disclosed herein combines previously disparate andisolated data sets into a single set of models. It may be based on SDNoperations functions, and include such factors as resource costs,infrastructure costs, service levels, levels of automation, and thelike. The disclosed methods and systems may utilize optimizationalgorithms and other analytics methodologies to present conclusions,both for daily operations use and well as executive recommendations. Thedisclosed system and method for an operations control panel may perform“what if” analysis for operations. For instance, what would be theimpact on operations staffing or service levels if automation wasincreased for a service?

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 that may support one or morenetwork services. Services may include virtual private networks (VPNs),wireless services (e.g., WiFi services), Ethernet services, telephonyservices, video services, storage area network services, or domain namesystem (DNS) services, among others. As illustrated there may bemultiple devices connected with network 101 via gateway device 99 or thelike. There may be mobile device 104 or laptop 109. Business and homenetworks, such as business network 103, business network 107, or homenetwork 105 may also be connected with network 100 and include one ormore devices (e.g., mobile device 103 or laptop 109).

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary information for expected performanceparameters that may be used in methods or systems disclosed herein. Asshown in FIG. 2, there may be expected performance parameters of serviceX (e.g., availability, reliability, elasticity, or security). Theexpected performance may be based on an average or median parameteracross a network that uses the services. Availability 111 may correspondto accessibility with regard to how, when, and where a service isavailable. Reliability 112 may correspond to whether a service is besteffort, assigned a quality of service (e.g., packet prioritization), ornetwork redundancy (e.g., dual homing or ring configuration). Elasticity113 may correspond to a fixed speed, whether a user can change the speed(e.g., via web interface or automatically based on reaching a time orthreshold), or billed only for time or bandwidth used. Security 114 maycorrespond to susceptibility to attacks based on technology used in aservice (e.g., VPN or Firewall) and actual success or number of attacks(e.g., viruses, unauthorized hacking, denial-of-service attack orDistributed denial of service (DDoS)) to disrupt a service.Availability, reliability, elasticity, or security, among other thingsmay be measured throughout the lifecycle of a service.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, service X may have 5 differentrankings (e.g., Rank 1-Rank 5). These rankings may correspond todifferent expected parameters as shown in FIG. 2, in which Rank 5 is thelowest ranking (e.g., min cost and min performance guarantees orfeatures) and Rank 1 is the highest ranking (e.g., max cost and maxperformance guarantees or features).

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary method for operations factory controlassociated with a particular type of service (e.g., Ethernet service orVPN service). At step 121, server 106 may obtain actual informationabout service X for a period. The information may include the costs toprovide service X, such as access cost 145, infrastructure cost history148, resource cost history 146, operations cost history 144, or 3rdparty cost 147, among others. In addition, the information may includethe actual (measured) performance and other parameters of the servicewithin the period. The actual performance may be associated withavailability, reliability, elasticity, or security, as disclosed herein.The other parameters may include level of automation, degree ofhomogeneity, amount of resiliency, or process, among other things.Automation parameters may be considered parameters that help define thelevel of automation (e.g., programmatic code) used to implement ormaintain service X without human intervention, which may include thenumber of times a particular user (e.g., service operator or end user)had to make manual adjustments to maintain service X. Homogeneityparameters may be considered parameters that help define how manydifferent vendors, types of hardware (e.g., servers, routers,interfaces), or types of software that are required to implement ormaintain a service. It is contemplated herein, that the actualinformation may be obtained for the service on one or more levels, suchas a gateway level (e.g., services connected with one gateway device),point of presence (POP) level (e.g., services connected with multiplegateway devices), a city metro area level (e.g., multiple POPs), or thelike. To simplify the example, for the method of FIG. 3A, the gatewaylevel (e.g., gateway 99 of FIG. 1) is considered.

At step 122, the measured (e.g., actual) performance parameters of arank (e.g., Rank 5) for service X may be compared by server 106 to theexpected performance parameters over a period for gateway 99. Althoughfor this example, the measured performance may be the performance ofservice X alone (e.g., all customers that are using the service X ongateway 99), it is contemplated herein that the measured performance maybe adjusted to incorporate just a particular customer, type of customer(e.g., type based on business size, business category, city, county,state, demographic, etc.), or the like. Based on the comparison of step122, server 106 may determine whether there should be adjustments tohardware or software (step 123) or provide alerts that recommend changes(step 124). For example, server 106 may determine that the ranks shouldbe adjusted for new installations of the service and provide an alertwith a recommended adjusted (e.g., new) rank. In another example, server106 may determine that a facility (e.g., hardware) should be upgraded(or does not need an upgrade) and provide an alert with the recommendedfacility upgrade. Adjustments to hardware or software may includereplacing modules in the hardware, connecting the interfaces of thehardware differently, replacing the hardware with another hardware,adjusting the temperature of a room that the hardware resides (e.g., thehardware may not be at the optimal temperature), increasing bandwidth,increasing memory, or increasing other hardware capacity, among otherthings (e.g., hardware components in FIG. 5-FIG. 7B). Adjustments tosoftware may include changing the software to a different version(upgrading or downgrading), including another piece of software to thecurrent software, moving a service Y on the hardware to another hardware(e.g., removing service Y and keeping service X to improve theperformance of service X), or manipulating a virtual machine (e.g.,deleting VM from the hardware), among other things (e.g., virtualfunctions or other software of FIG. 7A-FIG. 7B).

FIG. 3B illustrates another exemplary method associated with anoperations factory panel. At step, 125, similar to step 121, server 106obtains actual information about service X (or multiple services) fordifferent users (which may be all users) of service X (e.g., a firstbusiness and second business). At step 126, server 106 may obtain arequest for visualizations based on one or more scenarios. The requestmay be based on information from a user interface as shown in FIG. 4A.The scenarios may be “what-if” scenarios based on a turn of a virtualknob or the like that are associated with automation (knob 131),resiliency (knob 132), homogeneity (knob 133), or process (knob 134),among others. Different visualizations may be for the approximatecurrent period (e.g., near real-time), trend (e.g., past few weeks,months, or years), or simulation (e.g., forecast of the next few weeks,months, or years). At step 127, server 106 may generate visualizationinformation based on the request of step 126. Homogeneity 133 will beused for illustrative purposes of the method of FIG. 3B. The request ofstep 126 may include a request for a comparison of performance (e.g.,trend of availability, reliability, or security over the last 5 months)of different customers off of gateway 99 using service X that have 75%(or more) of the same model of devices using service X versus 25% (orless) of the same model of devices using service X. At step 128, server106 may provide the generated visualization information of step 127 tobe displayed.

FIG. 4B illustrates exemplary visualization information provided in step128. Line 137 may be availability for 75% homogeneity and line 136 maybe for 25% homogeneity. This allows for decision making, providinginformation, and changing a service of a network that was not easilyavailable before. For example, in the aforementioned homogeneityexample, a sales team of the service provider of service X may be ableto quickly determine whether to provide a new customer a discount ontheir service based on homogeneity. An operations team of the serviceprovider may be able to determine whether to do upgrades (e.g., how toprioritize upgrades) of service provider network hardware or software,whether to restrict service X operation via gateway 99 to particulardevice for increased performance, whether to route particular devicesthat use service X via gateway 99 for increased performance, or thelike.

Further considering the above with regard to the operations controlpanel, it is contemplated herein that the methods and systems herein maybe used to evaluate the performance of different product mixes ongateway 99 (or other levels) and help to automatically (based on athreshold) display visualizations or change network configurations toincrease performance. For example, if it is found based on a trendanalysis that a first product mix (e.g., Service X and Service Y) with afirst type of gateway shows better performance together (e.g., betteravailability) than a second product mix (Service X and Service Z) at asecond type of gateway, then there may be automatic migration of ServiceX (or Service Z) when a gateway of the first type becomes available.Also, proactively, initial installations of Service X or Service Z maybe prioritized to a gateway found to have the most efficient performance(or the like) for the product mix. It is contemplated that the moreefficient performance (or the like) gateway may not always be availableduring initial installation and when new gateways come on line orotherwise become available, then a move of the service to suit theproduct mix (or device mix) with the better (e.g., most efficientperformance) performance may be done. Although a gateway is disclosedherein, other devices that provide the services are contemplated for theexamples herein.

There may be multiple benefits associated with the methods and systemsdisclosed herein. The methods and systems disclosed herein may enableproduct managers or service designers to perform “what if” operation orpricing scenarios based on various service level options. The methodsand systems disclosed herein may identify the operational functions(e.g., functions associated with a service, such as a virtualized or SDNcomponent), which have the most potential for improved efficiencies,quality, or cost savings through operations such as automation orhomogeneity.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of network device 300 that may be connectedwith or comprise a component of FIG. 1. Network device 300 may comprisehardware or a combination of hardware and software. The functionality tofacilitate telecommunications via a telecommunications network mayreside in one or combination of network devices 300. Network device 300depicted in FIG. 5 may represent or perform functionality of anappropriate network device 300, or combination of network devices 300,such as, for example, a component or various components of a cellularbroadcast system wireless network, a processor, a server, a gateway, anode, a mobile switching center (MSC), a short message service center(SMSC), an automatic location function server (ALFS), a gateway mobilelocation center (GMLC), a radio access network (RAN), a serving mobilelocation center (SMLC), or the like, or any appropriate combinationthereof. It is emphasized that the block diagram depicted in FIG. 5 isexemplary and not intended to imply a limitation to a specificimplementation or configuration. Thus, network device 300 may beimplemented in a single device or multiple devices (e.g., single serveror multiple servers, single gateway or multiple gateways, singlecontroller or multiple controllers). Multiple network entities may bedistributed or centrally located. Multiple network entities maycommunicate wirelessly, via hard wire, or any appropriate combinationthereof.

Network device 300 may comprise a processor 302 and a memory 304 coupledto processor 302. Memory 304 may contain executable instructions that,when executed by processor 302, cause processor 302 to effectuateoperations associated with mapping wireless signal strength. As evidentfrom the description herein, network device 300 is not to be construedas software per se.

In addition to processor 302 and memory 304, network device 300 mayinclude an input/output system 306. Processor 302, memory 304, andinput/output system 306 may be coupled together (coupling not shown inFIG. 5) to allow communications between them. Each portion of networkdevice 300 may comprise circuitry for performing functions associatedwith each respective portion. Thus, each portion may comprise hardware,or a combination of hardware and software. Accordingly, each portion ofnetwork device 300 is not to be construed as software per se.Input/output system 306 may be capable of receiving or providinginformation from or to a communications device or other network entitiesconfigured for telecommunications. For example input/output system 306may include a wireless communications (e.g., 3G/4G/GPS) card.Input/output system 306 may be capable of receiving or sending videoinformation, audio information, control information, image information,data, or any combination thereof. Input/output system 306 may be capableof transferring information with network device 300. In variousconfigurations, input/output system 306 may receive or provideinformation via any appropriate means, such as, for example, opticalmeans (e.g., infrared), electromagnetic means (e.g., RF, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth®, ZigBee®), acoustic means (e.g., speaker, microphone,ultrasonic receiver, ultrasonic transmitter), or a combination thereof.In an example configuration, input/output system 306 may comprise aWi-Fi finder, a two-way GPS chipset or equivalent, or the like, or acombination thereof.

Input/output system 306 of network device 300 also may contain acommunication connection 308 that allows network device 300 tocommunicate with other devices, network entities, or the like.Communication connection 308 may comprise communication media.Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includesany information delivery media. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, or wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, or other wireless media. The term computer-readable media asused herein includes both storage media and communication media.Input/output system 306 also may include an input device 310 such askeyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, or touch input device.Input/output system 306 may also include an output device 312, such as adisplay, speakers, or a printer.

Processor 302 may be capable of performing functions associated withtelecommunications, such as functions for processing broadcast messages,as described herein. For example, processor 302 may be capable of, inconjunction with any other portion of network device 300, determining atype of broadcast message and acting according to the broadcast messagetype or content, as described herein.

Memory 304 of network device 300 may comprise a storage medium having aconcrete, tangible, physical structure. As is known, a signal does nothave a concrete, tangible, physical structure. Memory 304, as well asany computer-readable storage medium described herein, is not to beconstrued as a signal. Memory 304, as well as any computer-readablestorage medium described herein, is not to be construed as a transientsignal. Memory 304, as well as any computer-readable storage mediumdescribed herein, is not to be construed as a propagating signal. Memory304, as well as any computer-readable storage medium described herein,is to be construed as an article of manufacture.

Memory 304 may store any information utilized in conjunction withtelecommunications. Depending upon the exact configuration or type ofprocessor, memory 304 may include a volatile storage 314 (such as sometypes of RAM), a nonvolatile storage 316 (such as ROM, flash memory), ora combination thereof. Memory 304 may include additional storage (e.g.,a removable storage 318 or a non-removable storage 320) including, forexample, tape, flash memory, smart cards, CD-ROM, DVD, or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, USB-compatible memory, or any othermedium that can be used to store information and that can be accessed bynetwork device 300. Memory 304 may comprise executable instructionsthat, when executed by processor 302, cause processor 302 to effectuateoperations to map signal strengths in an area of interest.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 500 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods described above. One or more instances of the machine canoperate, for example, as processor 302, mobile device 104 or laptop 109,and other devices of FIG. 1. In some examples, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network 101) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in a server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a communication device of the subject disclosureincludes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video ordata communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, theterm “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machinesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

Computer system 500 may include a processor (or controller) 504 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU)), a graphics processing unit (GPU, orboth), a main memory 506 and a static memory 508, which communicate witheach other via a bus 510. The computer system 500 may further include adisplay unit 512 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, ora solid state display). Computer system 500 may include an input device514 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 516 (e.g., a mouse), adisk drive unit 518, a signal generation device 520 (e.g., a speaker orremote control) and a network interface device 522. In distributedenvironments, the embodiments described in the subject disclosure can beadapted to utilize multiple display units 512 controlled by two or morecomputer systems 500. In this configuration, presentations described bythe subject disclosure (e.g., step 128) may in part be shown in a firstof display units 512, while the remaining portion is presented in asecond of display units 512.

The disk drive unit 518 may include a tangible computer-readable storagemedium 524 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g.,software 526) embodying any one or more of the methods or functionsdescribed herein, including those methods illustrated above.Instructions 526 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within main memory 506, static memory 508, or within processor 504during execution thereof by the computer system 500. Main memory 506 andprocessor 504 also may constitute tangible computer-readable storagemedia.

FIG. 7A is a representation of an exemplary network 600. Network 600(e.g., of FIG. 1) may comprise an SDN—that is, network 600 may includeone or more virtualized functions implemented on general purposehardware, such as in lieu of having dedicated hardware for every networkfunction. That is, general purpose hardware of network 600 may beconfigured to run virtual network elements to support communicationservices, such as mobility services, including consumer services andenterprise services. These services may be provided or measured insessions.

A virtual network functions (VNFs) 602 (e.g., VNFs 101) may be able tosupport a limited number of sessions. Each VNF 602 may have a VNF typethat indicates its functionality or role. For example, FIG. 7Aillustrates a gateway VNF 602 a and a policy and charging rules function(PCRF) VNF 602 b. Additionally or alternatively, VNFs 602 may includeother types of VNFs. Each VNF 602 may use one or more virtual machines(VMs) 604 to operate. Each VM 604 may have a VM type that indicates itsfunctionality or role. For example, in FIG. 7A there may be an advancedservices module (ASM) VM 604 b, a DEP VM 604 c, CFED VM, DFED VM, OAMVM, management control module (MCM) VM, SCM VM, or the like.Additionally or alternatively, VMs 604 may include other types of VMs.Each VM 604 may consume various network resources from a hardwareplatform 606, such as a resource 608, a virtual central processing unit(vCPU) 608 a, memory 608 b, or a network interface card (NIC) 608 c.Additionally or alternatively, hardware platform 606 may include othertypes of resources 608. The automatic movement of VNF's is contemplatedbased on reaching particular thresholds regarding performanceparameters, mix of products, etc. as disclosed herein (e.g., FIG. 2A,FIG. 2B).

While FIG. 7A illustrates resources 608 as collectively contained inhardware platform 606, the configuration of hardware platform 606 mayisolate, for example, certain memory 608 c from other memory 608 c. FIG.7B provides an exemplary implementation of hardware platform 606.

Hardware platform 606 may comprise one or more chasses 610. Chassis 610may refer to the physical housing or platform for multiple servers orother network equipment. In an aspect, chassis 610 may also refer to theunderlying network equipment. Chassis 610 may include one or moreservers 612. Server 612 may comprise general purpose computer hardwareor a computer. In an aspect, chassis 610 may comprise a metal rack, andservers 612 of chassis 610 may comprise blade servers that arephysically mounted in or on chassis 610.

Each server 612 may include one or more network resources 608, asillustrated. Servers 612 may be communicatively coupled together (notshown) in any combination or arrangement. For example, all servers 612within a given chassis 610 may be communicatively coupled. As anotherexample, servers 612 in different chasses 610 may be communicativelycoupled. Additionally or alternatively, chasses 610 may becommunicatively coupled together (not shown) in any combination orarrangement.

The characteristics of each chassis 610 and each server 612 may differ.For example, FIG. 7B illustrates that the number of servers 612 withintwo chasses 610 may vary. Additionally or alternatively, the type ornumber of resources 610 within each server 612 may vary. In an aspect,chassis 610 may be used to group servers 612 with the same resourcecharacteristics. In another aspect, servers 612 within the same chassis610 may have different resource characteristics.

Given hardware platform 606, the number of sessions that may beinstantiated may vary depending upon how efficiently resources 608 areassigned to different VMs 604. For example, assignment of VMs 604 toparticular resources 608 may be constrained by one or more rules. Forexample, a first rule may require that resources 608 assigned to aparticular VM 604 be on the same server 612 or set of servers 612. Forexample, if VM 604 uses eight vCPUs 608 a, 1 GB of memory 608 b, and 2NICs 608 c, the rules may require that all of these resources 608 besourced from the same server 612. Additionally or alternatively, VM 604may require splitting resources 608 among multiple servers 612, but suchsplitting may need to conform with certain restrictions. For example,resources 608 for VM 604 may be able to be split between two servers612. Default rules may apply. For example, a default rule may requirethat all resources 608 for a given VM 604 must come from the same server612.

An affinity rule may restrict assignment of resources 608 for aparticular VM 604 (or a particular type of VM 604). For example, anaffinity rule may require that certain VMs 604 be instantiated on (thatis, consume resources from) the same server 612 or chassis 610. Forexample, if VNF 602 uses six VMs 604 a, an affinity rule may dictatethat those six VMs 604 a be instantiated on the same server 612 (orchassis 610). As another example (not specifically shown in figure), ifVNF 602 uses VMs 604 a, ASM VMs 604 b, and a third type of VMs 604, anaffinity rule may dictate that at least the VMs 604 a and the ASM VMs604 b be instantiated on the same server 612 (or chassis 610). Affinityrules may restrict assignment of resources 608 based on the identity ortype of resource 608, VNF 602, VM 604, chassis 610, server 612, or anycombination thereof.

An anti-affinity rule may restrict assignment of resources 608 for aparticular VM 604 (or a particular type of VM 604). In contrast to anaffinity rule—which may require that certain VMs 604 be instantiated onthe same server 612 or chassis 610—an anti-affinity rule requires thatcertain VMs 604 be instantiated on different servers 612 (or differentchasses 610). For example, an anti-affinity rule may require that VM 604a be instantiated on a particular server 612 that does not contain anyASM VMs 604 b. As another example, an anti-affinity rule may requirethat VMs 604 a for a first VNF 602 be instantiated on a different server612 (or chassis 610) than VMs 604 a for a second VNF 602. Anti-affinityrules may restrict assignment of resources 608 based on the identity ortype of resource 608, VNF 602, VM 604, chassis 610, server 612, or anycombination thereof.

Within these constraints, resources 608 of hardware platform 606 may beassigned to be used to instantiate VMs 604, which in turn may be used toinstantiate VNFs 602, which in turn may be used to establish sessions.The different combinations for how such resources 608 may be assignedmay vary in complexity and efficiency. For example, differentassignments may have different limits of the number of sessions that canbe established given a particular hardware platform 606.

For example, consider a session that may require gateway VNF 602 a andPCRF VNF 602 b. Gateway VNF 602 a may require five VMs 604 instantiatedon the same server 612, and PCRF VNF 602 b may require two VMs 604instantiated on the same server 612. (Assume, for this example, that noaffinity or anti-affinity rules restrict whether VMs 604 for PCRF VNF602 b may or must be instantiated on the same or different server 612than VMs 604 for gateway VNF 602 a.) In this example, each of twoservers 612 may have sufficient resources 608 to support 10 VMs 604. Toimplement sessions using these two servers 612, first server 612 may beinstantiated with 10 VMs 604 to support two instantiations of gatewayVNF 602 a, and second server 612 may be instantiated with 9 VMs: fiveVMs 604 to support one instantiation of gateway VNF 602 a and four VMs604 to support two instantiations of PCRF VNF 602 b. This may leave theremaining resources 608 that could have supported the tenth VM 604 onsecond server 612 unused (and unusable for an instantiation of either agateway VNF 602 a or a PCRF VNF 602 b). Alternatively, first server 612may be instantiated with 10 VMs 604 for two instantiations of gatewayVNF 602 a and second server 612 may be instantiated with 10 VMs 604 forfive instantiations of PCRF VNF 602 b, using all available resources 608to maximize the number of VMs 604 instantiated.

Consider, further, how many sessions each gateway VNF 602 a and eachPCRF VNF 602 b may support. This may factor into which assignment ofresources 608 is more efficient. For example, consider if each gatewayVNF 602 a supports two million sessions, and if each PCRF VNF 602 bsupports three million sessions. For the first configuration—three totalgateway VNFs 602 a (which satisfy the gateway requirement for sixmillion sessions) and two total PCRF VNFs 602 b (which satisfy the PCRFrequirement for six million sessions)—would support a total of sixmillion sessions. For the second configuration—two total gateway VNFs602 a (which satisfy the gateway requirement for four million sessions)and five total PCRF VNFs 602 b (which satisfy the PCRF requirement for15 million sessions)—would support a total of four million sessions.Thus, while the first configuration may seem less efficient looking onlyat the number of available resources 608 used (as resources 608 for thetenth possible VM 604 are unused), the second configuration is actuallymore efficient from the perspective of being the configuration that cansupport more the greater number of sessions.

To solve the problem of determining a capacity (or, number of sessions)that can be supported by a given hardware platform 605, a givenrequirement for VNFs 602 to support a session, a capacity for the numberof sessions each VNF 602 (e.g., of a certain type) can support, a givenrequirement for VMs 604 for each VNF 602 (e.g., of a certain type), agive requirement for resources 608 to support each VM 604 (e.g., of acertain type), rules dictating the assignment of resources 608 to one ormore VMs 604 (e.g., affinity and anti-affinity rules), the chasses 610and servers 612 of hardware platform 606, and the individual resources608 of each chassis 610 or server 612 (e.g., of a certain type), aninteger programming problem may be formulated.

As described herein, a telecommunications system wherein operationscontrol panel are based, at least in part, on user equipment, mayprovide a wireless management and control framework that enables commonwireless management and control, such as mobility management, radioresource management, QoS, load balancing, etc., across many wirelesstechnologies, e.g. LTE, Wi-Fi, and future 5G access technologies;decoupling the mobility control from data planes to let them evolve andscale independently; reducing network state maintained in the networkbased on user equipment types to reduce network cost and allow massivescale; shortening cycle time and improving network upgradability;flexibility in creating end-to-end services based on types of userequipment and applications, thus improve customer experience; orimproving user equipment power efficiency and battery life—especiallyfor simple M2M devices—through enhanced wireless management.

While examples of a telecommunications system in which messages forimplementing operation control panel and other systems have beendescribed in connection with various computing devices/processors, theunderlying concepts may be applied to any computing device, processor,or system capable of facilitating a telecommunications system. Thevarious techniques described herein may be implemented in connectionwith hardware or software or, where appropriate, with a combination ofboth. Thus, the methods and devices may take the form of program code(i.e., instructions) embodied in concrete, tangible, storage mediahaving a concrete, tangible, physical structure. Examples of tangiblestorage media include floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, hard drives, orany other tangible machine-readable storage medium (computer-readablestorage medium). Thus, a computer-readable storage medium is not asignal. A computer-readable storage medium is not a transient signal.Further, a computer-readable storage medium is not a propagating signal.A computer-readable storage medium as described herein is an article ofmanufacture. When the program code is loaded into and executed by amachine, such as a computer, the machine becomes a device fortelecommunications. In the case of program code execution onprogrammable computers, the computing device will generally include aprocessor, a storage medium readable by the processor (includingvolatile or nonvolatile memory or storage elements), at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. The program(s) can beimplemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. The languagecan be a compiled or interpreted language, and may be combined withhardware implementations.

The methods and devices associated with a telecommunications system asdescribed herein also may be practiced via communications embodied inthe form of program code that is transmitted over some transmissionmedium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics,or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code isreceived and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as an EPROM, agate array, a programmable logic device (PLD), a client computer, or thelike, the machine becomes an device for implementing telecommunicationsas described herein. When implemented on a general-purpose processor,the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique devicethat operates to invoke the functionality of a telecommunicationssystem.

While a telecommunications system has been described in connection withthe various examples of the various figures, it is to be understood thatother similar implementations may be used or modifications and additionsmay be made to the described examples of a telecommunications systemwithout deviating therefrom. For example, one skilled in the art willrecognize that a telecommunications system as described in the instantapplication may apply to any environment, whether wired or wireless, andmay be applied to any number of such devices connected via acommunications network and interacting across the network. Therefore, atelecommunications system as described herein should not be limited toany single example, but rather should be construed in breadth and scopein accordance with the appended claims.

In describing preferred methods, systems, or apparatuses of the subjectmatter of the present disclosure—operations control panel—as illustratedin the Figures, specific terminology is employed for the sake ofclarity. The claimed subject matter, however, is not intended to belimited to the specific terminology so selected, and it is to beunderstood that each specific element includes all technical equivalentsthat operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. Inaddition, the use of the word “or” is generally used inclusively unlessotherwise provided herein.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art (e.g., skipping steps, combiningsteps, or adding steps between exemplary methods disclosed herein). Suchother examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if theyhave structural elements that do not differ from the literal language ofthe claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements withinsubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses, among other things, as describedherein for operation control, among other things. A method, system,computer readable storage medium, or apparatus may: obtain informationassociated with a first network service, the information comprisingmeasured performance of the first network service that operates via afirst device at a first period; compare the measured performance at thefirst period to an expected performance of the first network service;and based on the comparison of the measured performance to the expectedperformance of the first network service has reached a first threshold,provide instructions to make an adjustment to the first device in whichthe first network service operates. The adjustment to the first deviceincludes moving a second network service of the first device to a seconddevice, wherein the first network service is a different type of servicethan the second network service. The adjustment to the first deviceincludes configuring on the first device the service types of a seconddevice that includes a service similar to the first network service; forexample, a first type of service X and a second type of service X thatoperate substantially independently of each other. The informationassociated with the first network service includes availability of theservice; for example, percent of time available or number of timesunavailable in a period. The information associated with the firstnetwork service includes percentage of automation of the service. Theinformation associated with the first network service includes theamount of homogeneity of devices that interact with the first networkservice. The information associated with the first network serviceincludes a number of denial of service attacks. Further steps mayinclude that based on the comparison of the measured performance to theexpected performance of the first network service has reached a firstthreshold, providing further instructions to display a graph comprisinga trend of the availability of the service. All combinations in thisparagraph (including the removal or addition of steps) are contemplatedin a manner that is consistent with the other portions of the detaileddescription.

What is claimed:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memorycoupled with the processor, the memory storing executable instructionsthat when executed by the processor cause the processor to effectuateoperations comprising: obtaining information associated with a firstnetwork service, the information comprising measured performance of thefirst network service, the first network service operates via a firstdevice at a first period; comparing the measured performance at thefirst period to an expected performance of the first network service,wherein the expected performance is comprised of an elasticity parameterand a security parameter; and based on a determination that thecomparison of the measured performance to the expected performance ofthe first network service has reached a first threshold, providinginstructions to make an adjustment to the first device on which thefirst network service operates, wherein the adjustment to the firstdevice comprises moving a second network service of the first device toa second device, wherein the first network service is a different typeof service than the second network service.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising determining whether an adjustment to hardware orsoftware of the first device should occur or provide an alert thatrecommends changes to the first device should occur.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein an adjustment to hardware comprises adjusting atemperature of a room in which the hardware resides.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the information associated with the first networkservice comprises availability of the service.
 5. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the information associated with the first network servicecomprises percentage of automation of the service.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the information associated with the first networkservice comprises an amount of homogeneity of devices that interact withthe first network service.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinformation associated with the first network service comprises a numberof denial of service attacks.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinmoving the second network service of the first device to the seconddevice occurs in response to the second device coming online.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein moving the second network service of thefirst device to the second device based on an analysis of a device typeassociated with the first device and a device type associated with thesecond device.
 10. A method that comprises: obtaining informationassociated with a first network service, the information comprisingmeasured performance of the first network service, the first networkservice operates via a first device at a first period; comparing themeasured performance at the first period to an expected performance ofthe first network service, wherein the expected performance is comprisedof an elasticity parameter and a security parameter; and based on adetermination that the comparison of the measured performance to theexpected performance of the first network service has reached a firstthreshold, providing instructions to make an adjustment to the firstdevice in which the first network service operates, wherein theadjustment to the first device comprises moving a second network serviceof the first device to a second device, wherein the first networkservice is a different type of service than the second network service.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the information associated with thefirst network service comprises availability of the service.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the information associated with the firstnetwork service comprises percentage of automation of the service. 13.The method of claim 10, wherein the information associated with thefirst network service comprises an amount of homogeneity of devices thatinteract with the first network service.
 14. The method of claim 10,wherein the information associated with the first network servicecomprises a number of denial of service attacks.
 15. The method of claim10, further comprising based on the comparison of the measuredperformance to the expected performance of the first network service hasreached the first threshold, providing further instructions to display agraph comprising a trend of an availability of the service.
 16. Themethod of claim 10, wherein moving the second network service of thefirst device to the second device based on an analysis of a device typeassociated with the first device and a device type associated with thesecond device.
 17. A computer readable storage medium storing computerexecutable instructions that when executed by a computing device causesaid computing device to effectuate operations comprising: obtaininginformation associated with a first network service, the informationcomprising measured performance of the first network service, the firstnetwork service operates via a first device at a first period; comparingthe measured performance at the first period to an expected performanceof the first network service, wherein the expected performance iscomprised of an elasticity parameter and a security parameter; and basedon a determination that the comparison of the measured performance tothe expected performance of the first network service has reached afirst threshold, providing instructions to make an adjustment to thefirst device in which the first network service operates, wherein theadjustment to the first device comprises moving a second network serviceof the first device to a second device, wherein the first networkservice is a different type of service than the second network service.18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein theinformation associated with the first network service comprisesavailability of the service.
 19. The computer readable storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein the information associated with the first networkservice comprises percentage of automation of the service.
 20. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein moving the secondnetwork service of the first device to the second device based on ananalysis of a device type associated with the first device and a devicetype associated with the second device.